Page:Yevgeni Alekseyevich Preobrazhensky - Third Anniversary of the Russian October Revolution (1921).djvu/23

 Rh In the course of the recent years they received only one-tenth of the agricultural machinery they require, and hardly any nails or iron parts for their vehicles, etc. Their clothing is worn out, and they have to replace it by improvisations. The peasants are therefore asking daily when will there be cotton material, nails, ploughs, scythes, axes, etc. It is therefore necessary that every peasant should understand the economic plan of the Soviet Government. As everyone knows, a house cannot be built without the foundation. Similarly, the regeneration of our industries must commence from the foundation, which means fuel and transport. The works cannot be re-started without fuel; without food for the workers, without raw material. All this must be brought from various parts of Russia; corn from one part, coal from another, cotton and iron from the third, and so on. The railways are the first foundation stones, and our main forces must be directed to them. Our first object is to improve the railways and to re-open the works supplying the needs of such railways; that is, such works as turn out engines, carriages, spare parts, rails, etc., and finally fuel for the railways and these works. This is our starting point. Next comes the re-starting of the textile industry and all that supplies the needs of same. This includes the manufacture of nails, axes, scythes, ploughs and all implements necessary for agriculture. Without engines, rails and carriages we cannot have nails and ploughs. Every intelligent peasant must understand that.

Therefore if the Soviet Government forces the peasants to fell wood and cart it, clear the snow from